Nanocardboard flyers could explore Martian atmosphere
Fleets of tiny laser-steered aircraft with no moving parts could be used to study the Martian atmosphere a group at Penn State University in the US has claimed.
The so-called nano-cardboard flyers, each weighing about as much as a fruit fly, levitate when bright light is shone on them. As one side of the plate heats up, the temperature differential gets air circulating through its hollow structure and shooting out of the corrugated channels that give it its name, thrusting it off the ground.
According to a study on the technology published in the journal Advanced Materials the thinner atmosphere in a Martian environment would give the flyers a boost, enabling them to carry payloads ten times as massive as they are. The weaker Martian gravity would further enhance their capabilities.
Leaf inspired energy device could power tech on Mars
Mars helicopter to launch as part of NASA mission
According to Igor Bargatin, lead researcher on the project, the technology could offer an alternative to more complex probes like the Mars Helicopter, that will be carried aboard NASA Perseverance Mars Rover.
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